Chapter Seven
Eden’s arms wrapped tightly around Cal’s neck, her perfume hitting him in a sweet, overpowering cloud. She clung to him like they were still in high school, like no time had passed.
“Cal,” she said, her voice bright with surprise and something else he couldn’t quite place. “I can’t believe you’re really here.”
She pulled back just enough to beam at him, her hands still on his shoulders. She barely spared Willa a glance before looping her arm through his and steering him toward an empty booth like the decision had already been made for both of them.
“This is perfect,” she said, sliding in across from him. “We have so much catching up to do.”
Cal lowered himself into the seat, still trying to process the sudden shift. He felt the weight of Willa’s eyes on him, though he didn’t dare look her way yet.
Eden kept talking, her words tumbling out as they’d been waiting to spill. “It’s wild you’re here. I never thought you’d actually come.”
Cal forced a small smile, but his mind was still with Willa, still thinking about the way she had pulled away back in the snug, her breath still fast, her hands still trembling when she straightened her clothes.
He couldn’t shake the way she had looked when Eden walked through the door.
And he couldn’t ignore the fact that his heart wasn’t where it was supposed to be right now.
Eden snapped her fingers at the passing waiter. Without looking at him, she rattled off her drink order, then tacked on, “And bring him a beer. Not Mooncatcher lager,” she added with a laugh. “I hear that one’s reserved for your soulmate. Funny, right?”
Her smile was playful, but there was something sharp tucked behind it.
Cal kept his expression steady. “Yeah, real funny.”
He didn’t bite. He wasn’t about to have that conversation with her. Not here. Not now.
“How’ve you been, Eden?” he asked instead, steering them somewhere safer. Somewhere that didn’t involve Willa or Mooncatcher legends or whatever gossip Eden had already picked up.
Eden’s shoulders relaxed, her grin softening into something warmer.
“Busy. Traveling a lot. Work’s been good, really good.
I’ve been doing a lot of commercial interior design.
Hotels, office buildings, that kind of thing.
It keeps me on the road, but my home base is still here in Wild Rose Point since my folks still live here.
” She shrugged like it was no big deal. “I just don’t stay in one place too long. ”
Cal nodded, letting her talk, but his mind was still tangled in the way Willa had looked when he left her.
He was sitting in this booth, listening to Eden, but the pull in his chest hadn’t budged.
It was still dragging him back to Willa.
Back to that kiss. Back to everything that still felt unfinished.
Their drinks arrived a few minutes later. Eden thanked the waiter with a quick nod, then wrapped her hands around her glass, her bright red nails tapping the side as she glanced around the room.
Her gaze landed on the couple near the back, and her eyes lit up. “Holy shit,” she said, leaning in a little like she was about to share a juicy secret. “That’s Sawyer and Lark, right? From Chasing Fire? I didn’t realize they were here tonight.”
She looked genuinely excited, the kind of starstruck buzz people got when they stumbled into celebrities unexpectedly. “Have you seen them around before?” she asked.
Cal shook his head, though he was pretty sure he had seen a whole lot more of them than he ever wanted to.
Up close. Personal. Steamy.
And now they were sitting a few tables away like they were just another part of this small-town Halloween night.
Eden was still watching them as if she couldn’t believe her luck, already planning the conversation she would probably try to have with them if the timing worked.
Cal lifted his beer but didn’t take a sip. His mind was still stuck on the other woman in the room. The one not sitting in front of him. The one probably trying to disappear into the crowd right now.
Eden had some of her drink, then rested her chin in her hand, giving him a soft, curious look. “So how have you been, really?” she asked. “What’s going on in your world besides this surprise trip?”
Cal leaned back slightly, his knee twinging just enough to remind him it was still there.
“Banged up my knee,” he said. “Rode a bull I shouldn’t have.
Stupid bet. Still dealing with it.” He left it at that.
No need to get into surgeries, physical therapy, or the fact that he wasn’t sure what came next.
Eden’s lips curved into a slow smile. “And what about your personal life? Anyone special?”
Cal’s gaze drifted before he could stop it, landing on Willa who was serving drinks.
She was focused on her task, her cranky cat tail swinging behind her as she moved.
He watched her tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear, her expression sharp and distant, as if she had carefully locked him out.
Eden sighed and set her drink down. “So much for catching up with the love of my life,” she muttered.
Cal’s head snapped back toward her. He knew she had said it playfully, but something about the words landed hard.
Once upon a time, they had said those words to each other. High school, back when everything had felt like it would last forever.
But that had been two decades ago.
And right now, sitting across from her, it didn’t feel like those words belonged to them anymore.
Eden swirled her drink, her eyes flicking toward Willa briefly, then back to Cal with a smirk. “Willa’s probably putting another curse on me right now,” she said, her voice light but edged. “You know about the curse, right?”
Cal didn’t get a chance to answer. Eden barreled on like she’d been waiting to get this part out.
“They say Willa’s grandmother cursed me.
Said that my true love would fall for Willa instead.
Ridiculous, right?” She laughed, sharp and dismissive, as if the idea was too absurd to even consider.
“Like that’s something I ever needed to worry about. ”
Cal stared at her, his chest tightening.
Eden’s smile faltered. She reached across the table and slid her hand over his, her nails cool against his skin.
“Maybe that’s what Willa’s doing now,” Eden said, her voice softer but lined with something sharper. “Maybe she’s leading you on. Maybe she’s trying to fulfill the curse. Think about it, Cal. What better revenge than to make you fall for her and then dump you? All to get back at me.”
She squeezed his hand like she had just shared a terrible secret, her gaze steady and waiting.
Cal pulled his hand back, slow and careful. “Willa wouldn’t do that,” he said, his voice steady.
Eden huffed, leaning back in her seat. “You don’t know her like I do.”
Her smile thinned as she drummed her nails on the table.
“After the whole mess with Brent, she made sure people took sides. She stirred things up, Cal. Got folks to believe Brent was the villain. It hurt his business. Hurt mine too. She couldn’t just accept that maybe Brent didn’t love her enough to stay faithful. ”
Cal’s jaw tensed, anger flashing hot in his chest. Eden must have caught the shift in his eyes because she quickly waved it off like she had gone too far.
“Forget it,” she said, reaching for her drink again. “Enough of that. This is our catch-up time, right?” She smiled like nothing had happened, like the weight of what she had just said could be brushed aside. “I want to hear about you. Everything.”
Before Cal could respond, Eden pressed on, her tone quick and bright like she was moving them right past the tension.
“We should catch up properly,” she said. “Not here. Not in the middle of this crowd.” She glanced around the noisy saloon like the place didn’t quite measure up for the kind of conversation she wanted. “How about dinner tomorrow? Just the two of us.”
Cal hesitated, but she didn’t wait for him to answer.
“Copper Lane Bistro,” she added, already planning it out. “It’s quiet, and they still make the best crab cakes in town. Does seven work for you?”
She tilted her head, waiting for him to agree like it was already settled.
Once again, Cal didn’t get the chance to answer. Eden’s phone chimed with a sharp pop—the distinct sound of a champagne cork. It cut clean through the hum of the saloon, playful and impossible to miss.
Her smile brightened the second she read the screen. “I’m so sorry,” Eden said quickly, already rising from the booth. “I’ve got to go. It’s a work thing. Can’t miss it.”
She didn’t wait for him to respond. She leaned in, pressed a quick kiss to his cheek like it was the most natural thing in the world, and breezed out of the saloon, her heels clicking against the worn wood floor as she hurried away.
Cal let out a slow breath and glanced around. He’d had more comfortable encounters with Edgar, the divebombing seagull. But he soon noticed the bar hadn’t gone back to normal. A lot of people were staring at him. Some just curious. Most of them glaring.
It didn’t take a genius to figure out who they were siding with.
His gaze drifted automatically toward the bar, but Willa was gone.
Nowhere behind the taps. Nowhere near the tables.
Just gone.
And the weight in his chest settled a little heavier.